Southern States plans bigger store in Monroe

A new Monroe Southern States store, four times the size of the current location, will hold its grand opening August 29th. Located at 1620 East Roosevelt Boulevard in a former BI-LO grocery store, the building has been undergoing extensive renovation since early March.

The farm-supply cooperative, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, operates more than 30 retail showrooms and agronomy centers in North Carolina, and has been in Monroe since 1986. The old location at 420 Crow Street will close and the staff will move to the new facility. Earlier this year, Monroe was chosen as the site for one of the company’s new Rural America stores, featuring a 12,000 square foot showroom and a wide variety of products for the rural homeowner, horse enthusiast and small scale farm operation.

“We will offer products in these new stores that we haven’t had available in our other retail locations,” said Anne Clingenpeel, Southern States vice-president for retail operations. “Beside a wider range of products, we will also offer a deeper selection within the individual product categories,” she added.

Horse enthusiasts and small cattle operations will find everything they need, from feeds and animal health products to livestock handling equipment. Of course Southern States pet foods, outer wear from Carhartt® and Berne®, grills and barbecue supplies, seed, fertilizer and wild bird feed and feeders will all be available in the new facility. Store hours will be 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Sundays.

“Rural America shoppers are a very important and growing customer segment for us,” said Steve Patterson, vice-president for corporate marketing. “We want these new stores to be a one-stop shopping destination for them, while still providing the expert advice and outstanding customer service that customers have come to expect from Southern States.”

Additional Rural America showrooms are being planned, including a new location in Rock Hill, South Carolina, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2015.

Southern States was established in 1923, and now serves more than 200,000 farmer-members. As one of the nation’s largest agricultural cooperatives, it provides a wide range of farm inputs, including fertilizer, seed, livestock feed, pet food, animal health supplies and petroleum products, as well as other items for the farm and home. The cooperative serves its members and non-member customers through 1,200 retail outlets in 23 states. Please visit http://www.southernstates.com for more information.

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